A LITTLE PERSONAL HISTORY 15 
supply. Then get a fair strain of this one 
breed, study its peculiarities, find out its 
good and its bad points and try to improve 
it. (See starting business, page 31.) 
This flock of 46 laid well, so that some eggs 
were sold but not at good prices, for the 
flock was so small there was really no use 
looking for a good market. An incubator 
was bought, also a few day-old chicks, and 
the summer was ended with 45 hens and 135 
pullets. In the fall a 4ox15 foot laying house 
was built and during the winter a 20x15 foot 
brooder house was attached. 
Again note the very serious mistake of 
building an incubator or a brooder house in 
conjunction with any other house, which my 
experience will bring forcibly to your mind. 
When February came around 65 nice little 
fellows were hatched and were six weeks old 
March 29 when 160 more hatched and were 
put in the hovers. At seven o’clock the cry 
of “fire” was heard, and by eight o’clock the 
entire plant was in ashes excepting 65 hens 
and pullets which were saved. 
Imagine, if you can, my feelings. In poor 
health, on the eve of what appeared to be a 
successful early season, to lose 225 little 
chickens, 110 hens, two incubators, etc., and 
